Operator of Match.com and Tinder to Be Spun Off in IPO

The media conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp said Thursday that it planned to pursue an initial public offering for its online dating business, the Match Group.

The offering of newly issued shares would spin off a variety of popular dating websites and apps under the Match Group banner, including Match.com, Tinder and OkCupid.

“As many know from our actions over the last 20 years, I’m not a believer in simply agglomerating assets in perpetuity,” Barry Diller, the IAC chairman and senior executive, said in a news release. “I’ve long felt that as entities grow into size and maturity, it’s healthy to give them separation and independence from a mother church.”

The IPO will consist of less than 20 percent of its common stock, and IAC will retain a stake in Match Group that includes both high-vote and low-vote shares, the company said. The IPO is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

IAC also announced that Joey Levin, the former chief executive of its search and applications business, which includes Ask.com, will become chief executive of IAC and join its board of directors.

Gregory R. Blatt will remain chairman of Match Group, and Sam Yagan will continue as its chief executive.

“The Match Group is poised for substantial growth in the coming years,” Blatt said in a news release. “The dating industry has come a long way since its inception, but the category remains underpenetrated.”

IAC, based in New York, brings a variety of websites and online media under one roof. Its brands include The Daily Beast and Vimeo, and it posted revenue of $3.1 billion in 2014.

The company moved aggressively to acquire online dating websites in the last decade, and in the last year, added the fitness website DailyBurn and the Princeton Review, the test preparation and college admissions services company, to its Match Group business. Match Group accounted for $239.2 million, or about 30 percent, of IAC’s revenue of $772.5 million in the first quarter.

IAC also said that Jeff Kip, the IAC chief financial officer since March 2012, would leave the company to spend more time with his family in Boston and to pursue other interests. He will stay to help with the transition to a new financial chief.

“Jeff has been a strong and talented executive over the last three years,” Diller said. “We thank him for his many contributions, fully support his decision to move closer to his family and thank him for his help in transitioning to his successor.”